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How I Got the Monkey Off My Back – Today Was a Good Day

Both Sides of the Table

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. It turns out it actually takes time to build a high-growth business with differentiated intellectual property and roll out large, enterprise-class marketing solutions. 5 years ago. 5 years ago. The monkey on my back.

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I Only Have 7 Trips Left. On Managing Work / Life Balance, Love & Family

Both Sides of the Table

It’s why I try to write about and be available to people who suffer from depression. It’s why I try to be open about how stressful being a founder really was and how stressful being a VC is even for an obviously “privileged class” and how physically unhealthy being a founder was to me. If it can wait please email me again on July 15th.

Carson 286
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The Changing Structure of the VC Industry

Both Sides of the Table

The poor performance of the asset class (this analysis has largely been wrong as I pointed out here –> most analyses were clumsy rear-view mirror looks at the data). Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” On the surface the narratives have been.

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Should Investors in the Same Round of Financing Ever Get Different Prices?

Both Sides of the Table

Since 2009 I have been counseling people to offer discounts to the first angel investors. The trouble is, nobody has an incentive to agree to write the first check. There is simply no reason for the first angel to write you a check until you have the whole round secure, which is why people herd cats. why buy anything?

Pricing 294
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What Angel Investing & Florida Condos Have in Common

Both Sides of the Table

But I’ll judge the angel class of 2009/2010 on a 7-10 year time horizon. Most of my MBA classes were a waste (since I had studied economics as an undergrad) but one totally changed my thinking. It was an investment management class. in 2009 the market was completely constipated as investors focused on triage.

Invest 299
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Is WebEx “Dead Man Walking?”

Both Sides of the Table

When I was looking through their company’s history I saw the following statement made in September 2009: “Takes on WebEx, launches web conferencing and announces its US expansion with 900 US resellers&#. The very next week I organized a call with Babak Nivi of VentureHacks to present to the Launchpad LA class. billion).

Screening 266
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The Great VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) – Part 1 of 3

Both Sides of the Table

I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. The best MBA class I took was an investment strategy class. Despite my cynicism of MBA’s , this class was very valuable to me. overvalued) and sell when the fall precipitously.